Korea Pitchers Hit Home Runs Out of 20 WBC Countries Disgrace '71% of Runs' Are Home Runs Why?

*This content was translated by AI.

The mound of the Korean World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team is collapsing due to a home run.

South Korea has given up eight home runs in three Group C games in the first round, earning the disgraced title of No. 1 overall among the 20 countries participating in the tournament (as of the morning of the 9th in Korea). In the same group, the Czech Republic, the lowest in all three losses, followed by South Korea with seven, while Taiwan allowed four, Japan three, and Australia allowed only one home run.

Moreover, South Korea has 12 points conceded by home runs, accounting for 70.6% of the total 17 points lost in three games. "If it hadn't been for that home run...I can't help but feel sorry for it. Even the Czech Republic's only home run (Terin Barbra 3 runs in the top of the 5th inning on the 5th, pitcher Jung Woo-joo) came from against South Korea / vs. Korea.

Of course, there are many home runs hit by Korean hitters. It is currently tied for first place in Group C with six, along with Japan and Australia. However, only two teams have negative home run margins: Korea (-2), the Czech Republic (-6).

The situation where he hit a home run was also very painful. In the bottom of the third inning with a 3-2 lead over Japan on the 7th, Ko Young-pyo hit a tiebreaking solo home run by Shohei Ohtani and a come-from-behind solo shot by Seiya Suzuki, and Cho Byung-hyun, who came out as relief, also allowed Masataka Yoshida to hit a back-to-back home run, giving the atmosphere 3-5 in an instant (6-8 loss).

In the match against Taiwan on the 8th, the home run was also a decisive loss. He gave up as many as four out of five runs through home runs. In the top of the second inning, starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin was hit by Jang Wi-cheong for the first solo shot, and in the top of the sixth inning, when the score was tied 1-1, Kwak Bin allowed a solo home run to Jung Zong-jeo and was dragged back.

Kim Do-young's two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning made a 3-2 turnaround. In the top of the eighth inning, Dane Dunning was hit by Stuart Fairchild for a two-run shot, allowing him to turn around again. In the end, South Korea lost 4-5 after 10 extra innings and was on the verge of elimination in the first round.

What is the reason why the Korean mound is struggling with home runs. First of all, Tokyo Dome in Japan, the venue of the tournament, is originally a stadium with a lot of home runs. It is an "air support dome" structure that supports the roof by keeping the internal air pressure 0.3% higher than the outside, reducing the resistance to hitting as the air density is slightly lowered.

In addition, air conditioners or ventilation systems inside the dome tend to form a unique airflow to push the ball toward the outfield, and the distance between the left and right is relatively short because the outfield fence is not a gentle curve but close to the left and right straight lines.

Nevertheless, the reason why Korea hits so many home runs is that pitchers often throw due to the lack of crystal balls, and the Rawlings official ball used in this tournament is somewhat slippery, which can make it difficult to control breaking balls. In addition, there is an analysis that the WBC pitch clock (15 seconds when there is no runner and within 18 seconds when there is no runner) is shorter than the KBO League, so there may be insufficient room when pitching. The pitch clock of the KBO League was 20 seconds and 25 seconds, respectively, last year, and from this season, it will be shortened to 18 seconds and 23 seconds.

There is now one game left of fate. In the match against Australia at 7 p.m. on the 9th at Tokyo Dome, I wonder if the Korean mound will be able to break away from the boundaries of the home run and smile at the end.

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*This content was translated by AI.